EP1316199A1

EP1316199A1 - Radio communication device

Info

Publication number: EP1316199A1
Application number: EP01971671A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Martin Hans; Frank Kowalewski; Josef Laumen; Gunnar Schmidt; Joachim Steiger; Siegfried Baer; Mark Beckmann; Thomas Gottschalk
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 2000-09-02
Filing date: 2001-08-30
Publication date: 2003-06-04
Anticipated expiration: 2021-08-30
Also published as: WO2002019676A1; US20040033783A1; US20100197280A1; EP1622348B1; JP2012016056A; US20150156305A1; EP1622348A1; US8923821B2; DE50115257D1; DE10043284C1; US7684789B2; DE50108026D1; EP1316199B1; JP2004507982A; JP5542758B2

Abstract

The invention relates to a radio communication device (1) comprising an interface for receiving at least one message and a display unit (16), whose operating mode can be activated or deactivated. Said radio communication device (1) comprises a message indicator (15), which signals the arrival of a message by means of a signal, irrespective of the operating mode of the display unit (16).

Description

radio set

State of the art

In mobile radio systems, such as those that function according to the GSM standard (groupe speciale mobile)

Mobile radio systems, it is intended that participants in

Mobile network can send and receive short messages.

An example of such a short message service is the so-called SMS service (Short Message Service). The receipt of such a short message is typical

Mobile phones to the addressee through a corresponding

Indicated on the display of the phone.

Advantages of the invention

The radio device according to the invention with the features of the main claim has the advantage that without changing the operating state of the display device a user of the radio device can be notified that a message, for example a short message, has arrived for him. This is particularly advantageous when the display device is in a switched-off or a power-saving operating state. The display device can then remain switched off or save energy and the The user can still be notified of the receipt of a message. As a result, the energy requirement of the radio device according to the invention can be reduced, so that there is a longer battery life. In addition, according to the invention, the user can instantly optically signal the receipt of the message. He therefore does not have to perform an action, for example actuate an operating element of the radio, in order to be informed of the input status - ie whether there is a message for him and, if so, how many messages are available - of the messages sent to him.

It is also advantageous that at least one message parameter is assigned to the message, that the radio has means for evaluating the message parameter, the signaling being provided as a function of the evaluation of the message parameter. This makes it possible to provide the user of the radio with information about the message parameter by varying the signaling, in particular by changing the signal intensity of the output signal over time.

It is also advantageous that the number of the at least one received message and / or the type of the at least one received message and / or the sender of the at least one received message is provided as the message parameter. This makes it possible for the user of the radio, depending on the definition of the signaling as a function of the message parameter (s), to receive information about the number, type and / or sender of the at least one received message.

It is also advantageous that the message indicator provides an output signal and that the signaling by at least one predetermined intensity or change in intensity of the output signal is provided. As a result, the information to be transmitted by the signaling is transmitted to the user in a simple manner via the message parameter.

It is also advantageous that the number of at least one change in intensity corresponds to a multiple of the number of at least one received message. This makes it possible with simple means to convey to the user the information about how many messages have been received or are present.

It is also advantageous that the output signal is an optical signal and that the signaling is provided by a predetermined color or color change of the output signal. This enables more information about the message parameters or the same information content to be more securely, i.e. easier to recognize and distinguishable to transmit to the user.

It is also advantageous that the message indicator is a light emitting diode. As a result, the information transmission according to the invention by means of the message indicator to the user is simple, i.e. possible with low costs and low manufacturing costs.

Another advantage is that operational information can be signaled by the message indicator (15) by means of further signaling. This allows the

Message indicators are used at least one after the other both by means of the signaling to signal the receipt of the message and by means of the further signaling to signal the operating information of the radio. It is not because of this necessary to provide an indicator on the radio device according to the invention, both for one function and for the other function.

Another advantage is that operational information can be signaled by a further message indicator by means of further signaling. This enables an easy separation between the operational information and the information reflecting the message status.

drawing

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and explained in more detail in the following description. Show it

1 shows a radio device according to the invention,

2 shows the radio device according to the invention connected to a mobile radio network, FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for evaluating a

Message parameters of an incoming message and

FIG. 4 shows an example of signaling a ^'

Message parameters.

Description of the embodiment

Short message services, such as the SMS service in the GSM mobile radio network (groupe speciale mobile), are becoming increasingly widespread and accepted despite their restriction to simple text messages and maximum

Text lengths of 160 characters. If larger text messages are to be sent, SMS, for example, offers the option of message chaining, ie the entire text to be sent is distributed over several short messages. On a correspondingly specified mechanism ensures the correct assembly at the receiver.

Another additional service that uses SMS for notification is so-called unified messaging, a platform that combines fax, email, voice mailbox, etc. and provides uniform access (usually via the Internet) to the data of these initially different services , Here, too, the SMS messages form an important component as notification of newly received data. Therefore, the invention is described below using the SMS or SMS messages as an example; however, it is not limited to use only with messages according to the SMS standard.

The advantage of the Short Message Service is that a message reaches the recipient immediately or, if the mobile device cannot be reached, is cached and automatically transmitted when the mobile device can be reached again. For this reason, in addition to the transmission of normal text messages, this service is also used for notification as part of other services. One such additional service, which uses SMS for notification, is an essential component of today's mobile radio systems and will also be in future mobile radio networks, is the voice mailbox, i.e. the possibility of storing a spoken message for a non-accessible addressee in a memory, so that, for example, the Function of an answering machine is fulfilled. The voice mailbox is a, usually central, instance in the mobile network of a network operator which - similar to local answering machines on the telephone connection of a user in the fixed network - offers the possibility of providing voice messages for a user of the mobile network to save. This can be the case if the called party cannot be reached at the time of the call; for example, due to a reception hole in the coverage area of the mobile network or because the called party has not switched on their mobile phone. If a caller has now left a message on a voice mailbox, the called party is usually informed of the receipt and number of these new voice messages by means of an SMS text message. As with any other SMS, this happens as soon as the cell phone of the

Called back can be reached for the mobile network. In the above two cases, this would be the case for the first case when the called party comes back to an area with sufficient network coverage by his mobile network operator, or in the second case when the called party switches on his mobile phone again and logs in to the mobile network.

With some mobile phones, the receipt of an SMS message is indicated by a corresponding display in a

Display device or a display of the phone communicated to the called party. In contrast, many mobile radio telephones offer the possibility of automatically switching off the display device after a certain period of non-use by the user or of switching it into a power-saving mode in order to reduce the energy consumption of the radio telephone in order to increase the battery life. The sooner the display goes out, the less battery power is used, ie the longer the mobile phone can be operated without having to recharge the battery. The display is reactivated, for example, by pressing the keypad of the mobile phone. This means that the display device is switched off most of the time because a user usually does not actively use the mobile radio telephone. When the display has gone out, a user must first activate the display to check whether there are messages, in particular short messages. For this purpose, a button or another control element must generally be printed or actuated explicitly on the mobile radio telephone. Recognizing the receipt of a message by the user on the basis of an acoustic signal is often not possible or is difficult to do because, for example, the acoustic signaling by the user is switched off because of the presence of other people or for other reasons, or because the user is moving for reasons of distance or for reasons of noise is outside the listening area of the radio telephone.

According to the invention, it is provided to display newly arrived messages on a radio device, in particular on a mobile radio telephone, independently of the display device. This allows new messages to be recognized immediately, even if a possible acoustic signal could not be perceived.

A radio device 1 according to the invention is shown schematically in FIG. The radio device 1 is provided as a mobile radio telephone, cell phone, etc. and, according to the invention, functions in particular according to a standard for wireless communication, such as GSM, UMTS or the like. According to the invention, the radio device 1 comprises the display device 16, which is also referred to as the display 16. Furthermore, the radio device 1 comprises a message indicator 15 and operating elements 35, such as buttons or the like. The message indicator 15 is provided in particular as an LED (light emitting diode) and is therefore also referred to below as an LED 15. According to the invention, the LED 15 is in particular a multi-colored LED 15 executed, ie the message indicator 15 can display several colors. This potentially expands the information content of a signaling that can be transmitted to the user by the message indicator 15. In one exemplary embodiment, the LED 15 is provided, for example, as a two-color LED 15.

The operating elements 35 are also referred to below as input devices 35. According to the invention, the display device 16 can assume various operating states, at least one switched on or activated operating state and one switched off operating state or one with reduced activation (e.g. economy mode).

FIG. 2 shows the radio device 1 connected to a mobile radio network 40. The radio 1 is connected to the mobile radio network 40 via an air interface 45. A device 50 is also connected wirelessly or wired to the mobile radio network 40, the

Device 50, additional services, such as a voice mailbox, in the mobile radio network 40. A communication terminal 60 is also connected to the mobile radio network 40, generally via a wireless interface, which is not specified in any more detail. The mobile radio network 40 functions according to the invention, in particular in accordance with a standard for wireless communication, for example GSM, UMTS or the like. According to the invention, the radio device 1 comprises, as a means for evaluating message parameters, an evaluation device 20 to which the input device 35, a transceiver 10 and the display device 16 are connected , Furthermore, the radio device 1 comprises a memory 30 for storing information, for example short messages, which is connected to the transmitting / receiving device 10. In the case of a GSM-compatible radio device 1, the memory 30 is usually located on an identification module, such as the SIM module (Subscriber Identification Module). Including the SAT standard (Sim

Application Toolkit), there is the possibility of combining the memory 30 and the evaluation device 20 on a SIM module 5. This possibility is characterized in FIG. 2 in that the SIM module 5 includes the evaluation device 20 and the memory 30 with a broken line (dashed line).

The transceiver 10 receives a short message from a cellular network 40, e.g. from the telecommunications terminal 60 or from an additional service operated in the mobile radio network 40 or a device 50 necessary for this additional service. The short message is processed in the radio 1, i.e. on the display device 16 - if it is in an switched-on operating state - displayed and stored in the memory 30. In addition, the message is sent to the evaluation device 20, which in the simplest case registers the receipt of the message and indicates or signals it via the message indicator 15.

Via the input device 35, it is possible to enter information for controlling the evaluation device 20 and to configure it such that, for example, only selected short messages are displayed on the display device 16 and / or by the message indicator 15, or different messages are displayed differently. The selection criterion is, for example, the sender's number, the type of message, the number of messages received and / or the fact whether the Message has already been made available to the user, ie for example whether the message has already been listened to by the user.

It is assumed in the following exemplary embodiment that the evaluation device 20 works on the basis of the sender's number as a selection criterion. The user can configure the evaluation device 20 via the input device 35 such that, on the one hand, when a short message is received, which is sent by the

Telecommunication terminal 60, to which a specific call number, for example the number “0172/4999008”, is assigned, the message indicator 15 has a first color and that, on the other hand, when a short message is received as a notification of the receipt of a voice message in a voice mailbox Message indicator 15 emits a signal with a second color, for example flashing.

The signaling, for example in the form of a flashing sequence, carries e.g. Information about the number of messages available or about other message parameters. This is possible in that it corresponds to the reception or the presence, for example, of three (e.g. unheard) messages in the device 50, which is designed as a voice mailbox, for example, if the message indicator 15 flashes three times in quick succession in one of its possible colors.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart to illustrate the exemplary embodiment. A short message is received at a first program point 100 and stored at a second program point 110, in particular in the memory 30. At a third program point 200, the received short message is evaluated on the basis of one or more message parameters, in the exemplary embodiment as Message parameters the number of the sender of the message is selected. In the example considered, the following cases are then available, for example: a first case provided with the reference number 201, which is present when a message is received from the telecommunications terminal 60, to which the telephone number "0172/4999008" is assigned, for example; a second case provided with the reference numeral 204, which corresponds to the receipt of a message from the device 50, ie for example a voice mailbox; a third case labeled 208 that includes all other situations. If it is determined in the third program point 200 that the first case 201 applies, a first counter (not shown) is incremented in a fourth program point 210 and the new state is carried out in a fifth program point 220

LED 15 flashes in the first color. In the event that it is recognized in the third program point 200 that the second case 204 applies, a second counter (also not shown) is incremented in a sixth program point 260 and it is in a seventh

Program point 280 the new state is indicated by the LED 15 flashing in the second, for example different, color. In the event that it is recognized in the third program step 200 that the third case 208 applies, no further action takes place.

The evaluation in the evaluation unit 20 is not limited to the sender's number. It can also refer to the text of the message or the short message, the type of message, the number of messages available or the like. For example, the presence or absence of the words "mailbox" or "email" are used as selection criteria to determine the type of message. Elements of the SMS header, ie the header of an SMS message, or the SMS user data headers can be used for selection. In addition, it makes sense here to determine special user-defined selection criteria which make it possible to recognize certain notifications, ie certain messages, and thus to treat them in a special way, for example in that a special signaling is emitted by the message indicator 15 or in that certain messages are stored differently, in particular in the memory 30, than other messages. For example, the receipt of e-mails via SMS is recognized by recognizing certain header elements, which can also be used as selection criteria. The received messages can also be stored in a sorted manner, for example.

FIG. 4 shows an example of signaling the message indicator 15. A flashing sequence is shown in a plot of the intensity 310 of the output signal of the message indicator 15 over the time profile 300 thereof, which is characterized in that the flashing is carried out three times at a first time interval 320. The flashing once is due to the fact that the intensity 310 of the output signal of the message indicator 15 changes, for example, twice, that is to say the intensity 310 is set, for example, from a first value to a second value and - after a certain waiting time - then again to the first Value is set in order to also remain there for a certain additional waiting time. The first time interval 320 corresponds to the time interval starting from

Intensity change from the first value of the intensity 310 to the second value of the intensity 310 until the end of the further waiting time after the intensity 310 of the output signal has been reset to the first value. Through the described sequence of three flashes - ie by a total of six changes in the intensity of the output signal; the number of changes in intensity corresponds to twice the number of messages received - an example is given of how it is possible according to the invention to signal the receipt of three new messages. Two such flashing sequences are shown in FIG. 4, a second time interval 330 being provided between the flashing sequences. The second time interval 330 is provided in such a way that the flashing sequences can be distinguished or separated by the user, for example in that the second time interval 330 is provided greater than the first time interval. Further possibilities for designing the signaling by the message indicator 15 result from the fact that the intensity of the output signal of the message indicator 15 does not change in a binary manner as shown in FIG. 4 - that is, there are only two states - but the signaling can also be provided in this way be that more than two discrete values are provided for the intensity 310 and that the change in intensity of the output signal from one of these discrete values to another of these discrete values transmits to the user information about an incoming message.

According to the invention, a further embodiment provides for the user to transmit other information, in particular operating information, to the user, in addition to the information about the status of the message receipt or the receipt of a message, through the message indicator 15. Operating information includes in particular information about the state of charge of the battery or battery (not shown) (battery status), information about the availability of the battery Cellular network 40 or information about whether the radio 1 is currently logged into the cellular network 40 or not. Such operating information has previously been communicated to the user in particular via light emitting diodes by means of further signaling. For

Information regarding the content of messages, such as those relating to the number, type or also the sender of messages or the like, has so far always been used in radio devices in the display device, which leads to the disadvantages described, in particular the higher power consumption and the more complicated operation of such radio devices ,

According to the invention, the further signaling of operating information to the user and the signaling of information in terms of content, i.e. for example regarding the receipt of messages to the user, both separately, i.e. with the message indicator 15 and another message indicator, not shown - for example with two different light-emitting diodes - as well as together, i.e. with the message indicator 15 for signaling both the operational information and for signaling the status of the message input. In the second case, for example, the operating information is only signaled using a third color, while the informational content is only signaled using the first and second color.

As an exemplary embodiment, it is merely stated here that a radio device 1 according to the invention is provided, for example, in such a way that the LED 15 flashes in red at a relatively low frequency when the radio device 1 no longer receives the regular signals of the mobile radio network 40 or only very poorly, that is to say in Case of a supply shortage of the mobile radio network 40. If the battery is almost empty in this exemplary embodiment, the LED 15 flashes at high frequency and also in red, regardless of whether the radio has 1 reception or not. If the radio device 1 is both logged into the network and also receives the regular signals from the mobile radio network, the LED 15 flashes in green at a relatively low frequency. In this exemplary embodiment, the user therefore always has the opportunity to recognize whether the radio device 1 has reception and whether the battery needs to be charged urgently - regardless of whether the display device is switched on or off or is switched to a power-saving mode. To signal the receipt of a message, the invention provides in this case that the light-emitting diode flashes, for example, in blue.

On the other hand, however, it is also in accordance with the invention not to provide any further color of the LED 15 for signaling the receipt of a message, but merely to provide a different flashing pattern than the low-frequency flashing in green color, which occurs in the exemplary embodiment under consideration if the radio device 1 is both in contact with Cellular network also has a sufficient energy server. This ensures that the user always recognizes whether the radio device 1 is logged into the mobile radio network 40 or not. If there are now three new messages, for example, the LED 15 flashes three times with a flashing interval that corresponds to the first interval 320. This is selected, for example, such that an average flashing frequency is established between that of the low-frequency flashing for signaling a correct network connection on the one hand and that of the higher-frequency flashing for signaling the inadequate state of charge of the battery on the other. Then the LED 15 pauses for a long time before again in the middle three times Flashing frequency flashes. The duration of the long break should be at least as long as the time intervals between the flashing signals of the low-frequency flashing.

Claims

Expectations

1. Radio (1) with an interface for receiving at least one message and with a display device (16), the display device being provided to assume at least one switched-on and at least one switched-off operating state, characterized in that the radio device (1) has a message indicator ( 15) includes, the input of the

Message can be signaled by the message indicator (15) by means of a signaling regardless of the operating state of the display device (16).

2. Radio (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the message is assigned at least one message parameter, that the radio (1) has means for evaluating the message parameter, the signaling being provided as a function of the evaluation of the message parameter.

3. Radio (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the number of the at least one received message and / or the type of the at least one received message and / or the sender of the at least one received message is provided as the message parameter.

4. Radio (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the message indicator (15) provides an output signal and that the signaling is provided by at least one predetermined intensity and / or change in intensity of the output signal.

5. Radio (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the number of at least one change in intensity corresponds to a multiple of the number of at least one received message.

6. Radio (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the output signal is an optical signal and that the signaling is provided by a predetermined color and / or color change of the output signal.

7. Radio (1) according to claim 4 to 6, characterized in that the message indicator (15) is a light emitting diode.

8. Radio (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that an operational information can be signaled by the message indicator (15) by means of a further signaling.

9. Radio (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that an operational information by another

Message indicator can be signaled by means of a further signaling.